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Playoffs Guide

The Playoffs. Its why we play the game. For the chance to play into October. For the chance to be crowned champs of our league.

Here's what you need to know about the CSFBL playoff model - tie-breakers, how the playoffs work, and everything else.



Who makesReaching the playoffs?Playoffs

The top two teams from each of the four division make the playoffs - the division winner and the runner-up. Tiebreaker rules are based on the following:

1) Overall record
2) Division record
3) Head-to-head record
4) Run differential
5) Coin flip

In the event of a 3-way tie, the list goes from division record straight to run differential, skipping over head-to-head.

Playoff Format

CSFBL uses a three-series playoff model. Each round is a maximum of 7 games, in other words, first team to win 4 games wins the series. There are "travel days" in between Games 2 and 3 as well as between Games 5 and 6. The team with home field advantage hosts games 1, 2, 6 and 7.

       * Division Championship: The four Division Championship Series (DCS) each feature the division winner playing the runner-up from that division. The division winner has home-field advantage. Game 1's are held each season on September 30th.
       * League Championship: The two League Championship Series (LCS) each feather the winners of the first round with divisions 1 and 2 matched against each other, and divisions 3 and 4 facing each other in the other LCS. Home-field advantage goes to the team with the best won-lost record. In the event of a tie, home field is determined by the head-to-head record in the 9 regular season games between these two inter-division opponents. Game 1s are held each season on October 10th.
       * World Series: The two winners of the League Championship Series are pennant winners of their conference and heading to the World Series. Home-field advantage goes to the team with the best won-lost record In the event of a tie, home field is determined by the head-to-head record in the 3 regular season games between these two inter-conference opponents. The Fall Classic kicks off each season with Game 1 on October 20th.

Pitching rotations

With extra days off and a long off-season to rest, managing a pitching rotation in the playoffs is different than managing a pitching rotation in the regular season. Here are some suggestions for managing your pitching staff in the postseason.

  • When the playoffs start, If you have not adjusted your pitching rotation during the regular season Division Championship Game 1 will use your SP1 pitcher, Game 2 SP2, Game 3 SP3, Game 4 SP4, and so on. But if you did change it, you'll need to make sure your rotation is setup properly before the playoffs begin.
  • When you advance to the next round, your rotation picks off where it ended in the previous round. So for example, say your team sweeps (4-0) the Division Championship round using pitchers SP1, SP2, SP3, and SP4. In Game 1 of the League Championship round, SP5 will be used. Or if your series ends after 7 games, your Game 1 starter in the League Championship round will be SP3.
  • Because the playoffs are so competitive, it is possible and perfectly legal to use a 3-man rotation. Most starters can recover to full strength or very close to it on 3 complete days of rest. CSFBL currently allow you to select a 4-man or a 4-man rotation size, however you can do a 3 man rotation manually with great success. For example, move your game 1 starter (usually SP1) to SP4 as soon as his start is completed, then move Game 2 starter (usually SP2) to SP5, and so on. Use your worst pitchers to fill in the other starter pitcher roles (which if you manipulate things right, they will never pitch). Things will turn out to look this way in a 7 game series (assuming all of your starters are able to pitch on schedule), guaranteeing your ace 3 starts and the other two starters 2 starts:

    Game 1: SP1 (your ace)
    Game 2: SP2 (your 2nd best starter)
    Off Day
    Game 3: SP3 (your 3rd best starter)
    Game 4: SP4 (your ace)
    Game 5: SP5 (your 2nd best starter)
    Off Day
    Game 6: SP1 (your 3rd best starter)
    Game 7: SP2 (your ace)

  • Special note if you use a 3-man rotation: throw your other starters into the bullpen. If you have closer problems, maybe throw your 4th starter as closer. Or if you have a closer, move the extra starters to fill long and middle relief roles just in case your playoff starters falter.